August — The Fundamentals of Urban Greenspaces

We Need Public Greenspaces Now More Than Ever

Public greenspace access is essential to building strong communities and strong democracies. One of the most concerning public health crises we are facing is the epidemic of loneliness, with people feeling more disconnected, isolated, and unhappy.  The health risks are not only mental, but physical.  Loneliness can lead to “a 29% increased risk of heart disease; a 32% increased risk of stroke; and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults” (NPR, 2023). In addition, solitude and isolation weaken the social fabric and civic trust that are essential for a healthy and functioning democracy.

Capital Trees’ mission is to lead initiatives that use public greenspaces to awaken, restore, and transform the environment and everyone who lives in it. Our vision is a future with communities teeming with thriving greenspaces that bring health and wellbeing to all residents. We believe that with every groundbreaking and with every community workday we build a future where greenspaces heal both the soil and the soul.

Greenspaces as the Community Backyard and Town Square

Greenspaces are the bridge to connection and help to stave off the negative consequences of loneliness and disconnection. They are critical components of social infrastructure and can provide an avenue for building connections, encouraging civic engagement, and combating loneliness. “Green spaces serve as a social hub for communities. They provide a place for people to gather, interact, and build relationships. Green spaces… bring people together and foster a sense of community” (Ugreen, 2024).

Capital Trees creates greenspaces that are not just beautiful, but vital. These are spaces that welcome communities to connect with neighbors and nature. They are sanctuaries that create a refuge for mental health and wellbeing. By providing a sense of place and connection, greenspaces draw neighbors out into the public realm, promoting a sense of safety, encouraging public engagement beyond the greenspace, and combating loneliness. In addition to providing a sense of place and connection, greenspaces also serve as vital ecological and social infrastructure, fostering resilience within a community, and strengthening its bonds from the ground up.

Our Considerations for Connection:

To ensure we create connective greenspaces, we are guided by our values and a thoughtful approach:

• Enlightening: We share our love for nature and teach people about its complexity and needs so they become invested in keeping it healthy.
• Transformative: We change ignored areas into inviting spaces.
• Respectful: We honor diversity, equity, and inclusion to create safe places for all people to enjoy.
• Collaborative: This work takes all of us, and we embrace everyone who wants to be involved.

Based on these values, we focus on three key considerations:

• Engage and Ask: We find out directly from the people impacted by greenspace design what they want and need. Our projects become beloved cornerstones for our community because they are designed specifically for the community, with input from the community, and maintained by community volunteers. 
• Close to communities: We add greenspaces where they will have the most impact, in areas that otherwise don’t have adequate access to parks. We’re aiming to place greenspaces within a safe and accessible 10-minute walk for as many people as possible. 
• Draw on Data: We use data sources like heat mapping, tree canopy assessments, and redlining maps to identify spaces in greater need of greenspaces. We select locations that will see the greatest environmental benefit and will provide relief for communities who suffer from the most severe effects of climate change.

What Capital Trees Is Doing and Learning

Our work is guided by a commitment to Compassionate Community. Because we inspire people to take action together, they become invested in the wellbeing of our city, our environment, and each other.

• Presence: We remain connected to the spaces where we work — before, during, and after projects are complete. Our team is regularly onsite, tending to the landscapes, checking in, and engaging with the community. Volunteers, staff, trustees, neighbors, and partners work side by side in these spaces, building meaningful relationships that foster both personal well-being, a healthier community, and civic engagement.
• Sharing Updates: We regularly update our website with the latest, provide updates on social media, and attend community meetings to keep people informed.
• Drawing People In: We host greenspace tours, volunteer workdays, and community events to bring people together at our greenspaces.
• Listening and Asking: We continue to listen, ask questions, learn, and grow, so that our organization is living, breathing, and evolving to best serve the community — just like our greenspaces are.

We welcome everyone to join us.

References

• Harvard Graduate School of Education. (2024, October). What is causing our epidemic of loneliness and how can we fix it? Usable Knowledge. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/24/10/what-causing-our-epidemic-loneliness-and-how-can-we-fix-it
• National Recreation and Park Association. (n.d.). Social benefits of green infrastructure in parks. https://www.nrpa.org/contentassets/0aa1178a2d944cbc8cb6fbc5ce31b266/nrpa-social-benefits-of-green-infrastructure-in-parks-one-pager.pdf
• National Public Radio. (2023, May 2). America has a loneliness epidemic. Here are 6 steps to address it. NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/1173418268/loneliness-connection-mental-health-dementia-surgeon-general
• National Park Service. (n.d.). Social benefits of green infrastructure. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/social-benefits-green-infrastructure
• Olmsted. (n.d.). A vision for truly inclusive public spaces rooted in Olmsted’s core values. https://olmsted.org/a-vision-for-truly-inclusive-public-spaces-rooted-in-olmsteds-core-values/
• Putnam, R. (2024, July 13). The Interview: Why you are lonely. The New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/magazine/robert-putnam-interview.html
• Ugreen. (2024, May 17). The power of green spaces: How parks and public spaces promote happiness and health. Ugreen.io. https://ugreen.io/the-power-of-green-spaces-how-parks-and-public-spaces-promote-happiness-and-health/

August — Urban Greenspace Maintenance

What a rollercoaster ride the weather has been this summer. Cool, hot, wet, dry, humid, and then the pattern has repeated! These conditions offer a mixed blessing. For the new tree plantings the moisture has been great. As a result, the trees we planted in the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025 are thriving.  

Not so successful have been the drought tolerant forbs planted last fall and this spring. The excess moisture has caused many to rot or barely thrive. While drought tolerant plants do need additional water in the establishment period, they suffer from too much water which is what we’ve been seeing. We will not pull the plug yet on the type of plants selected for areas we anticipate to be primarily hot and dry. It is too early to tell if this year is the new normal, or if we’ll resume our typical drought conditions next summer.  

The bulk of August maintenance involved weeding. We hosted a highly successful community work day at Hotchkiss Green on Saturday, August 9th. Over 25 community members gathered to attack the wiregrass which threatens to overrun the beds. For those not familiar, the Green was once a big open field and is still surrounded by playing fields. It will take several years of diligent weeding and additional plantings to establish enough cover to shade out the wiregrass or at least weaken it.  

This was the first community workday at the site since the bulk of the installation was completed. Starting on August 12th we will have two opportunities each month to volunteer at the Hotchkiss Green. This opportunity is open to everyone, and will take place on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. Sign up through CFengage linked here. We will also be having a community event at Hotchkiss Green on September 20th. We’ll be planting plants on the pollinator berm and all are welcome to join us for this installation.

Our volunteer corp for the Low Line Gardens remains robust. Every week we can count on 6-12 folks to show up and lend a hand which goes a long way towards our regular maintenance needs. This volunteer opportunity is on Wednesday mornings from 8 a.m. until noon.

Another exciting project is in the works for Canoe Run Park (600 W 22nd Street Richmond VA.) A portion of the park is overrun with Kudzu which is invasive and grows aggressively. Thanks to the support of our partners Keep Virginia Beautiful, Co-Star, and the City of Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, Capital Trees will embark on a multi-year project to eliminate the kudzu and reclaim that portion of the park. 

The first step in the process is to have RVAGoats on site to eat the kudzu and other invasive species. The goats will be onsite the last week of August and the first week or so of September.  There will be a community event on the Sep 6, 2025 to provide information about the project and there will be opportunities to volunteer and assist with the maintenance of the new trees and pollinator garden. 

The fall promises lots of opportunities to join us for enhancing and maintaining valuable public greenspaces.  We look forward to seeing you!

August — Featured Trees Seasonal Update

Black gum trees planted at Deep Run Park in spring 2024, and photographed in August 2025.

Throughout 2025, we’ll be documenting the black gum tree, Nyssa sylvatica, which is planted at many of our urban greenspaces. This native tree is one of our favorites, hence its wide use. It offers interest every season of the year — shiny green leaves in the summer, brilliant reds, yellows, oranges and purples in the fall, and architectural structure in the winter.

Important for our purposes, black gum trees thrive in a variety of growing conditions making it suitable for planting in urban soils. They are tolerant of drought, heat, and both dry and wet soils. Typically, in cultivated conditions, the tree matures at 20-30 feet in height with a 1-2 inch diameter trunk. Because it’s native, it supports a variety of wildlife including mammals, birds, and insects.

You can learn more about black gum trees here.

August — “Spotted At”

When we engaged the community in the planning process for the Hotchkiss Green, many folks expressed interest in a food forest. We worked edible plantings into our planting plans, and were excited to find fruit on the trees in the first year after planting! Because the trees are so young we did not expect much fruit production this year. We were excited to see that the figs and persimmons are plentiful, and while not as plentiful, we also spotted jujube fruits. There were no pawpaws just yet, those typically take 4-8 years before fruit is produced. Something to look forward to!  

Worth noting, the jostaberry and Nanking cherry haven’t thrived. We are puzzling out why and what to do to improve the vigor for next year. Stay tuned for updates! Gardening of all types is always a journey; just when you think you have it figured out, Mother Nature throws a curve ball.